Trampoline
by The American Nomad
Summary: A young Tenten meets Neji one day during her gymnastics training...how will they both react? Rated T to be safe, but only for language.
1. Chapter One

This is one of my older stories, but also, one of my favourites. I've edited it, made it a bit more refined, and spaced it out more. It still may need a bit of editing, but I am a lot happier with this version.

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**Trampoline**

An elite gymnast. That's all she ever was, and all she would ever be. She was only ten years old but she knew that's all her future could be. Winning the gold in the Olympics. It's not like she had a choice either. Her parents were told when she was born; she was to be a gymnast, and nothing else. She was home schooled and had over five hours of training every day, and only a measly one and a half hours of school work. She was never assigned homework either, a kids' dream, but she didn't want to be an elite gymnast, she didn't want to go to the Olympics, and she didn't want the gold. But she had been an obedient girl, and she practiced every day of the year Monday to Sunday, rain or shine, **every day.** Today was no exception. She was told to go outside and practice on the trampoline, her least favourite thing to do, but if she was told, she had to do. And so she went. The obedient little girl she was.

When she got outside she cautiously walked up to the outdoor trampoline and unzipped the safety-net, slipped of her shoes, and delicately lifted herself up on to the trampoline. Not even bothering to use the steps conveniently located to her right. Once inside the trampoline, she gently pushed aside the twigs that had fallen on to the trampoline from the wind and pushed them off the side. She put herself, sitting Japanese-style as apposed to 'cross legged', in the middle of the trampoline, closed her eyes, and sighed. She thought about the upcoming gym competition, and pretty much anything that crossed her mind. Her silence was interrupted by the small 'tink' of a twig landing on the trampoline. She looked at the twig in front of her and cautiously thought about where it could have come from. The wind wasn't blowing, so it couldn't have blown in through one of the holes in the trampoline net, and she thought about where it had landed. The angle in the way it had landed could only have meant that a person had thrown it. She looked around, and noted something different in her surroundings. There was a patch of pale-purple in the bush nearest the trampoline. She knew she didn't know anyone with purple anything, and quirked her head to the side trying to figure out who could be there. The bush made some rustling noises but no reply came from the person behind the bush.

'Fine, have it your way then.' she muttered under her breath, and stood up gracefully from her sitting position. She took a deep breath and began to jump. She started out doing simple tricks like splits in the air, back and forward flips and jump-handstands. When she felt she was stretched enough, she started to jump really high and attempted to do what she was sent out to do, a back-handspring triple back-flip. On her first try, she got the handspring perfect but didn't jump high enough to do the flips, so the laws of gravity forced her back down onto the trampoline. The second time she tried the trick, she jumped to high and landed funny on the hand spring causing her to jump too high for the flips. She was too far away from the trampoline to land correctly and her momentum sent her into another spin, but in the middle of that spin, gravity took over again, sending her down on the trampoline with a loud shriek from the springs. She winced and stood up with a limp, but shook it off. She had to master this trick, whether she liked it or not. She sighed as she attempted the difficult trick and landed it perfectly. Though she landed perfectly for both parts of the trick, she scolded herself for coming out of the 'tuck' position too soon and not pointing her toes hard enough. She had to get it _perfect._ Nothing less.

She was broken out of her trance by the sound of…clapping? At first she thought it was the spring of the trampoline squeaking after she landed, but, it was more consistent and it sounded…nice. Never was she applauded for working hard and practicing everyday. Sure, when she was in competitions she was heavily applauded, but only because of a high score, or a good coach. This felt, _**good,**_ she decided as the best word to describe the feeling bubbling up inside her as she got off the trampoline, re-zipping the safety net and carefully slipping her shoes back on. As soon as she was done, she ran off towards the bush seeking to find the mysterious person applauding her. She dashed to the bush, expecting someone to still be there, but instead, she found a note saying;

"_Meet me back here at this bush at 12:00 midnight; I have a gift for you._

_Keep up your hard work; I'm sure you'll make the Olympics someday if you do._

_Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you or anything; I'm only eleven .Hope to see you then._

_Your new next-door neighbour, _

_Neji Hyuga"_

'_**Hmm...Neji Hyuga, eh?**_' she thought.

'Well, Hi!….Where ever you are. I'm Tenten Chishu…I'll see you then.' she said with a smile.

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	2. Chapter Two

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11:58pm. Tenten checked her watch for what seemed like the eleven-millionth time in ten seconds. She checked her surrounding once again, keeping her eyes on that one bush, trying to decide if she should leave or wait for longer for this Neji guy to come. She did some research on her next door neighbour. She found out that they had moved in today, and her father went to school with his guardian. She didn't find out much else, except he was only a bit older than her, probably only by a couple months, her birthday was this Sunday, but like every year, it wouldn't be celebrated. She sighed, some how she had motivated herself to get outside earlier than midnight and there she was, freezing her butt off in a tank top and shorts. She would have gone to get her bathrobe, but if she went to get it now, she might miss him. She looked at the watch she brought out with her; it read 11:59pm. What was taking so long? She looked up, trying to find something to keep herself occupied. She settled for the moon. It was full tonight, and was an interesting shade of off white. Somewhere off in the distance she heard a dog howl to the moon, and was soon joined by at least six other dogs, and then the sound of someone clearing their throat. Her head jerked down after hearing the last sound, only to be met face to face with a boy her age with eyes that were almost the same colour as the moon. Their faces were so close together she let out a small yelp and jumped back, at least a foot after seeing him so close. She had never been in such close proximity with a boy since she was three, when her father died during his job as a body guard. All of her coaches were girls, same with her tutors, and even her goldfish, so it was no wonder her mother was worried when she asked about their new next door neighbours. She was there now and there was no turning back.

She faced Neji and shyly said; 'Sorry, you just….startled me.' She turned a darker red 'stupid, _stupid_, **stupid**!' she thought to herself. 'Obviously he startled me; why else would I have yelped! I'm such and **idiot!**' she...well she thought she only said that in her mind.

'You're not an idiot.' A male's voice said.

'_**Oh **__**crap**_**.****'** She thought as she turned a very deep shade of crimson. She watched as he took something from his front pocket. It was a small box wrapped in silver paper with a small purple ribbon around holding the top and bottom of the box together, neatly tied in a bow at the top of the box. He handed it to her and said, 'Open it on Sunday. Let me know what you think of it. And don't open it early, I'll know' and with that disappeared in a puff of smoke, a note where he used to stand. 'Well he likes being mysterious.' She thought aloud with a smirk she bent over and read the letter he left for her and read it to herself quietly.

'_Meet me tomorrow, same place same time. I want to watch you open your present._

_-Neji_

_Ps. you never did tell me your name Miss Tenten. Have you no manners?'_

'Pft. No manners…See you then _'Mr'_. Neji' she thought before running up to her room, box in hand.

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That night Tenten didn't a good night sleep unlike other nights. She couldn't fall asleep because she could only think about what could be in the box. It could be anything! Like a gift certificate, or jewellery or…or ANYTHING! She thought about opening the present earlier but she remembered what Neji had said... _'Don't open it early, I'll know'_ she thought about what it could mean. How could he know? She got up and walked over to her dresser and fingered the box carefully. She then, ever so carefully, tugged on the little purple ribbon. So it only moved the tiniest bit and shut her eyes in case something blew up or something. She opened one eye, just to make sure her room wasn't charred to a crisp. Looking up she saw nothing out of the ordinary she proceeded to tug on the ribbon until…'I wouldn't do that if I was you.'

Tenten nearly fell over from shock 'W-w-what are you doing here?!' She yelped, her face a deep red. 'I told you I would know.' Neji stated simply, he then looked at his watch.

'Pathetic, you could only wait 25 minutes.' Tenten blushed furiously. 'It's not my fault!' she said quietly. 'And keep it down! Someone will hear you!' Neji only smirked. 'Well since you're _soo _curious, and I'm already here, you might as well open it now.' Tenten only blushed harder, if that was even possible. 'If you insist!' she said in a sing song voice. She carefully took off the bow, and opened the box to reveal a paper crane. It was perfectly folded and was the same pale-lavender colour as Neji's eyes. She gasped as she saw how perfect it was. Neji also blushed seeing her pleasure.

'It can't be as good as whatever your parents give you.' He said modestly. At this, Tenten's face fell. She was super quiet and whispered 'My mom never gives me anything.' This time Neji's face fell when he heard the silent response. 'I'm sorry' was all he could say, his face flushed with embarrassment.

'It's ok. It's not your fault anyways' she said with a simple smile. There was a long awkward silence afterwards. Neji and his ego not allowing him to say anything and Tenten not knowing what to say to a boy. The silence was forcibly broken by Neji saying; 'You know, if you get 1,000 cranes, you can make a wish.' It was weak, he knew, but it was all his pride could let him say. And before Tenten could say anything else he disappeared in a poof of smoke yet again, this time with a really short note saying;

'_Happy birthday Tenten'_

'Thank you…Neji.'

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	3. Chapter Three

I'm sorry that this chapter is so short. There is a lot of dialouge, and I just thought of this, last minute. For those of you who were following along with the story from the begging, next chapter is where they are older.

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"Tenten..."

_'**Uh-oh'**_

"_Ten_ten!!"

'_**Crap'**_

"TENTEN!!"

'_**Shoot, shoot, shoot!'**_

Stomp, stomp, stomp. Her mother's footsteps echoed through the hallway menacingly.

"I know you're awake!"

She was getting closer and closer to the door, while Tenten was running around, wondering what to do before diving into bed silently and skilfully thanking the lord that she was a gymnast, and shoving the crane under her bed quickly, hoping her mother wouldn't find it.

"**TENTEN!!**" boy, her mother was _angry_. _**'She couldn't have heard….could she?'**_

Knock, knock.

At least she had the courtesy to knock, and as soon as she did, Tenten slowed her breathing, and pretended to be asleep. But that act was interrupted soon.

"Tenten." Her mother said, seething with rage. "Tenten." She said again. She was getting closer and closer to her bed, and her voice was shaking with rage. Tenten shut her eyes extra tightly and clutched the covers to her chest, but they were soon ripped off by her mother, and she was soon grabbed by the shoulders, and was harshly shaken 'awake'.

"Tenten, what the HELL were you doing up? You know I need sleep, and your trainers need their sleep. Hell, I could care less if you sleep, as long as you perform well in the upcoming competition, and I get the prize money, I may consider you as a 'good' child. But you, _dis_obedient little girl, need to shut up. People like you should be seen, not heard. I should have disabled your vocal chords when the doctors offered, but no, I had to listen to your _father_. Look where that got me. Shut up, and let me go to sleep."

Her voice was full of venom, but she released her grip from her frightened daughter's shoulders, rubbing the bridge of her nose, and walked out of her room, slamming her door and then walking back to her own room, mutter incoherent curses under her breath.

Tenten sighed, and tried to go back to sleep. _**'That, was close. At least she didn't hit me, although, I'll admit, my shoulders are going to be sore tomorrow.'**_ She thought.

Little did she know, someone was still watching.

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The next morning Tenten woke up, her shoulders sore, as she expected, and was not allowed breakfast when she went downstairs. It was 'strictly prohibited' by her mother, because she had been an 'insolent, stupid child, who did not do what she was told.' She was then sent out to do practice outside on the trampoline. Something her mother knew she hated. Although, she didn't hate it as much anymore, especially since she had the feeling that somebody was waiting for her

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"Why do you let her treat you like that?"

"…What?" She knew it was Neji, but what was he talking about? Unless….

"I saw what happened last night. How can you just sit back and let her treat you like that!"

"Well, tell me this much, how can I defend myself? She's my mother. What am I supposed to do, run away?"

"Well, that is always and option…"

"I didn't mean it seriously! Besides, I've been obedient all of my life; I can't bear to let her down. Regardless of the way she treats me, she's still my mother."

"You keep using that as your defence! Do you honestly think she's that great?"

Tenten sighed. She was defeated, yet again. "Well," she said, admitting defeat. "What do you propose I do?"

"I '_propose'_, you listen to me, and follow my plan."


	4. Chapter Four

Again, sorry for the shortness, but I lost interest at the last bit. I will continue, and attempt to update today, but, only if I get more than two reviews.

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Just a side note Tenten was born the day after the Gymnastics part of the Olympics (because there are different sports, and sometimes the Olympics runs for many days), and I think you have to be over 18 to be in the Olympics. Right now, Tenten is 19.

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--Eight Years later--

"You can do it." He said with a smile.

"No, no….I can't do it!"

"Why not, what's holding you back?"

"Everything! Too many people are watching, too many people are expecting me to win! I can't do it. I can't do it because I'll lose." _**'And I don't want to let you down…' **_Her unheard words were the most important, yet she couldn't say them aloud. But she knew she couldn't do it! She couldn't win. It was too important. He was watching. Her mother was watching. All of her family, none of whom she had met, but they were still watching. All eyes were on her, or so it seemed. Not that it helped her nerves at all, her trainer had told her the story of her aunt, who had won the Olympics, but died two days later because of undiscovered lung cancer,

_-flashback-_

_Your aunt was one of the most experienced gymnasts' the world had ever seen! She had a whole career ahead of her after she won the Olympics, but her habit of smoking that she had in the past was her downfall. She had only smoked for two months, but she was also a victim of second hand smoke. The surprising thing was, the day before she died, while she was on her deathbed, she said "Tell Tenten 'Good luck' from me when she gets to the Olympics." Those were her final words, and that was the day you were born. Your father suggested the name Tenten, because it means heaven in Chinese, which was where your aunt was. She knew you were going to be a gymnast, and that was what your mom brought you up as. Now that she has lung cancer, please, do her a favour. Win, so you can pay for the surgery to remove the tumour. She may not have been the world's best mom, but she wasn't the worst either. We're all counting on you to make things better, ok Tenten? _

_-End of flashback-_

She couldn't even call that woman her trainer anymore though. Neji was the one who had trained her for today, and the last seven years of her life! He had looked everything up on the internet. Routines, Competitions, Suggested training times, and he even studied the rules of the Olympics. He had been the nicest trainer she had ever known. Every time she mastered a trick she got a crane, and everytime she won a competition she had gotten two cranes. He had given her breakfast, lunch, and dinner when her mother had forbidden it, and he celebrated her birthday. Not like most normal people would, but he did something special for her 15th birthday. He had taken her secretly to dinner, to meet his family, and she was welcomed, and was treated as one of the family. Something she had wanted since she was little…A family. It was the perfect birthday present. She felt nothing but gratitude towards the Hyuga family, but the fact that they were there watching too was not helping. And she was next.

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REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!


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